Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Has $1.01 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,221 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,136 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,592 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Applied Materials by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 769,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $124,780,000 after acquiring an additional 89,750 shares in the last quarter. Skopos Labs Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $861,000. Hoylecohen LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Hoylecohen LLC now owns 69,043 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $11,190,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HCR Wealth Advisors bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $220,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.64.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.3 %

AMAT traded up $2.94 during trading on Friday, reaching $220.89. 3,795,707 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,466,837. The stock has a market cap of $183.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.58. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $126.13 and a twelve month high of $225.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $206.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.32 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.